introduction
As we all know, the sword is the king of a hundred soldiers and has a very important role in Chinese history. In China, the history of the sword has two peak periods, namely the Spring and Autumn Warring States and the Han Dynasty, in the Song Dynasty's "Ci xu xiang gong rhyme ten songs · out of the plug", the application of sword blades and other weapons on the battlefield is described: "The iron ball infantry tent three armies, rockets burn the camp of ten thousand bones." The weapon was known to be a murderous weapon, and Zhi Ge was Emperor Wu's heart wide. ”
Why are these two periods at their peak? In fact, it has a very big relationship with China's Bronze Age. In the world, China, as the oldest and most culturally profound ancient civilization, has a very long history. We have entered the Bronze Age more than 4,000 years ago, and bronze smelting technology reached the peak of history in the Shang Dynasty.
▲ Bronze sword
01
According to relevant history and the research of some archaeologists, the casting process of swords made of bronze in the Shang Dynasty period was very mature. Later, after hundreds of years of continuous development, people further strengthened this technology, so our bronze sword reached its peak in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which was unmatched by any country in the world.
However, it is strange that the once glorious Bronze Age gradually withdrew from the stage of history after the Warring States, followed by the "Iron Age", and the bronze sword was also replaced by the "Iron Sword". The iron sword of the Han Dynasty period is a must, and in the ancient weapons industry in China, there has always been a juxtaposition of "Han sword and Tang sword", which shows the superb smelting technology of the Han Dynasty sword weapon.
▲Iron sword of the Han Dynasty
However, the iron swords of the Han Dynasty have been handed down to this day, and most of them have been rusted and damaged, and it is difficult to collect. On the contrary, there are not a few bronze swords that have been handed down to today, and a large part of them come from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and some of them are still more sharp than the sword. Among these treasures unearthed, there is a bronze sword from the Warring States period, which is extremely precious, that is, the Yue Wang Gou Jian sword, which is known as the "first sword in the world".
02
This Yue Wang Gou Jian sword is now in the collection of the Hubei Provincial Museum, which is not only a national first-class cultural relic, but also a treasure of the town hall of this museum. Some people may wonder, what is the magic of this Excalibur?
▲ Yue Wang Gou Jian Sword
China's major archaeological discoveries are basically in the 60s and 70s of the last century. There were great archaeological discoveries in various places during this period, and Hubei Province was naturally included. The Yue King's Gou Jian Sword was found in the Wangshan Chu Tomb Group in Jiangling County, Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, which contains countless ancient tombs of the Spring and Autumn Warring States and subsequent dynasties. However, it is regrettable that some of these ancient tombs have been stolen and destroyed by tomb robbers, and the cultural relics have long been scattered.
However, when these ancient tombs were discovered by china's professional archaeologists, they were remedied one by one. In the long-term rescue excavations of archaeologists, a large number of well-preserved bronzes have been found. Experts deduce from the various characteristics of this group of bronzes that this is the tomb of the General of the Chu State in the Warring States period. In December 1965, archaeologists found two bronze swords next to the main coffin, the style of which was Wu Yue. The appearance of the Wu Yue sword in the ancient tomb of the Chu state is simply puzzling, so archaeologists speculate that it is because of the spoils of war after the Chu army destroyed the Yue kingdom.
▲ Photos of ancient tomb excavations
03
At that time, a very excited archaeologist saw the sword and quickly took it out. Miraculously, the sword was actually rustless for a thousand years, and under the illumination of the sun, it seemed that a cold light hit people's eyes.
What was even more surprising was that when the experts opened their eyes, they found that the archaeologist who took the sword had been cut by the sharp sword, and the blood on his hand was still flowing. After this matter spread to the Internet, many netizens ridiculed the "blood confession" of the Yue King's sword. Because of the magic of this incident, the archaeologists later tested the sharpness of the sword again, so they used it to gently scratch the paper, and in an instant, the thick 18 sheets of paper were cut.
▲ Partial photo of the Yue King's sword
Experts say it's a sword that "can't be replicated in modern times," and even to some extent, science can't explain why it's so sharp. Moreover, people also found that the sword is full of puzzles, the mystery of alloys, the mystery of metal memory, the mystery of the millennium stainless steel, these problems that have not been solved by science have always puzzled people. Therefore, after the sword was unearthed, many countries in the world were very curious about it, so they invited our country to lend the sword for an exhibition.
epilogue
Of course, China's cultural relics conservators know the preciousness of this sword, but it is difficult to be generous, and in 1996, the sword was lent to the Singapore exhibition, but it is a coincidence that an incident occurred in this exhibition. Therefore, in 2002, China's cultural relics department specially formulated regulations to prohibit the export of this sword for exhibition.
Resources:
"Ten Songs of The Second Xu Xiang Gong Rhyme · Out of the Plug"
"The World's First Sword Yue King Gou Jian Sword"